In what could be another scandal for Speaker of Parliament Anita Among, President Yoweri Museveni has asked for an investigation to establish if she illegally owns houses in the United Kingdom (UK).
Museveni has tasked the Inspector General of Government and the Minister of Integrity to handle the matter and report to him immediately.
Museveni in a letter dated May 2, 2024 and addressed to the Minister of Foreign Jeje Odongo said she got the information that Among has a house or houses in the UK from the British High Commissioner to Uganda, Kate Airey OBE, with the diplomat, telling Museveni her government wants to sanction Among over the matter.
“On Tuesday at 1000hrs, I met the British High Commissioner at her request for an urgent meeting. The meeting was at Nakasero but I was on my way to Entebbe for another meeting. I therefore did not have time to discuss with anybody the issue,” he says.
Museveni said the British official gave her information about Anita’s wealth while informing him about their intention to sanction former minister Goretti Kitutu and Agness Nandutu who were recently dropped from cabinet due to the mabaati [iron sheets] scandal.
“She [Airey] also told me about sanctioning the Rt. Hon. Anita Among. I said: “Why?” She said that Anita Among has got a house or houses in the UK and she has got bank accounts from which she pays school fees for her children who are studying from there. I told her that the issue of houses would be interesting, if, especially, Anita Among did not declare them in her Leadership Code documents. If she had declared them, then the next issue would be how she got money to build them. If these are answered correctly and showing no mistake, the next issue would be political, ideological judgment,” Museveni wrote.
He continued: “Why would a Ugandan leader build or buy houses in the UK or anywhere else abroad, when Uganda, the still-underdeveloped country where she would have earned the money, still needs those investments? I would definitely be a moral and ideological mistake.”
Museveni in his letter says following the disclosure from the British official regarding Among’s alleged houses in the UK, he requested for more information about the matter.
“I, therefore, told the High Commissioner that the Uganda Government would demand from the UK Government more information about this. Attorney General and the Minister of Foreign Affairs to advise on how this can be done and the appropriate to go ahead and do it,” the President stated.
In the letter Museveni wonders if Among declared the alleged house or houses in the UK as required by the Leadership Code. Under the Leadership Code, public/government officials are required to declare their wealth to the IGG. This is meant to combat the rampant embezzlement of public money by the government officials.
“Meanwhile, by the copies of this letter, I request the Inspector General of Government [IGG] and Minister of Integrity to inform me if the Rt. Hon. Anita Among declared in forms of the Leadership Code her owning of a house or houses in the UK. The issue of bank accounts I told the High Commissioner may not be a serious issue if she sent legitimately earned money to support the children who are, legitimately, studying there, he said. “All concerned to note the contents of this letter and act where required.”
On the other hand, Museveni in the letter wondered why the UK Government had gotten involved in the internal matters of Uganda when the British High Commission told him they intended to sanction former ministers Kitutu and Nandutu over the alleged stealing of iron sheets [mabaati] belonging to the people of Karamoja.
“The High Commissioner told me that they intended to sanction the Hons Kitutu and Nandutu for their roles in the mabaati issue. I would like by the copy of this letter to ask the Attorney General about the legality of this action since this is a purely internal issue for Uganda. The alleged theft was discovered by our agencies and courts are handling the case. The accused are not yet convicted. How do other countries come into the matter? Attorney General advise.”
Past scandal
Among is among five people named recently in an alleged corruption exposé by a group of journalists and activists since February.
The Speaker and a number of her staff are accused of breaching parliamentary rules by using private bank accounts to withdraw enormous amounts of money between April 2023 and January 2024, supposedly for Among’s official work including outreach, community projects, and expenses. The journalists also allege that Among oversaw the distribution of more than Shs1.7 billion in 2022 as “service awards” for parliamentary commissioners, who oversee spending and salaries in Parliament.
The exposé has implicated other members of Parliament too, including the former leader of the opposition Mathias Mpuuga, who has acknowledged that he and three other commissioners handed themselves “service awards” worth Shs400 to Shs500 million.
Documents shared by Journalist Agather Atuhaire recently on X, formally Twitter, implicate a number of Among’s staff, who according to the documents had more than Shs1.9 billion deposited in personal accounts between April 2023 and January 2024. The money was marked in the documents as being used for various outreach and community projects. Another document suggests that, in October 2023, more than Shs2.6 billion were deposited in another staff member’s accounts for the same reasons. The transactions were just four days apart.
It is not clear whether the money was genuinely used for official work. Moving huge public funds through private accounts is outside of established public procurement processes, and goes against the Public Finance and Management Act, 2015.
